Dairy Cow Slaughter Slows

Dairy cow slaughter slowed considerably in February, with just 237,000 head sent for processing in federally inspected plants, the United States Department of Agriculture reported this afternoon.

Compared to a year ago, February slaughter was down 8.5%, with 22,000 fewer cows culled. January 2014 cow slaughter was 270,000 head, or 33,000 more cattle culled than February. However, there were 22 business days in January compared to 20 days in February. When adjusted for daily volume, February cow slaughter was down 422 head, or 3.4%.

Year-to-date, 49,000 fewer dairy cows have been culled, a decrease of 8.8%. You can read the full report here.